Former Deputy Director – Statistics, Muriel Saunders prepared the first Chronicle of Central Bank of Barbados Policies that was ultimately published by the Central Bank of Barbados. Appearing in the Central Bank’s Quarterly Report for March 1980, it proved an extremely useful reference and covered the period 1973-1979. An update was published in 1987 as a separate paper entitled “Chronicle of Central Bank Policies”, a revised version of which was issued in 1997.

In 2005, the Bank released an update to the Chronicle covering the period 1972 – 2004. This effort was coordinated by the then Deputy Director – Statistics, Celeste Wood[1] and former Statistical Officer, Norene Trent. All aspects of Central Bank activity were included in so far as they were intended to have an impact on the performance of the economy. The major highlights included the phased liberalisation of foreign exchange controls. To this end, the Exchange Control section was changed to show the chronological movements of major segments such as imports, travel, business, investment and relations with CARICOM. In addition to credit, interest rate, exchange rate and exchange control policies, the Chronicle listed activities by the Central Bank to make finance available to exporters, small businesses and other producers. It also mentioned initiatives by the Central Bank in the offshore financial sector.

The information in the Chronicle is typically summarised from various Annual Reports, Press Releases and Circulars to Financial Institutions, and in 2009 Celeste Wood teamed up with Secretary, Eurcil Weekes to coordinate an update of the Chronicle to 2009.

In preparing this intended hardcopy document for publication, it was determined that users of the information would appreciate the ability to search for key aspects of Central Bank Policy in an easy and efficient manner. With this in mind, the Chronicle was redesigned in an on-line format to:

• enhance functionality
• facilitate greater access to the information by regional and international publics
• make available more timely and current information

This new interactive system, designed by Library Assistant, Erskine Hinds, allows users to search by date, policy and key word (s) and download the information in Excel format for further use. Following for your convenience is a list of policy options presently available.

Anyone wishing further information or clarification of any item is invited to contact the Research and Economic Analysis Department at info@centralbank.org.bb